There has been a long felt need for compact cameras that can be used to capture several images on a single sheet of film stock. Of particular interest are inexpensive compact cameras of this type that can provide high-quality images. Such cameras are especially desired as one-time-use cameras and simple rental cameras.
Apparatuses that allow the capture of multiple images on a single sheet of light sensitive silver halide film have been known for some time. In one example of this type, multiple small lenses and a complex sequential shutter mechanism enable the capture of multiple sequential images of an ongoing activity to form the so-called “golf” stop-action camera as described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,250. In such a stop-action camera, each of the sequential images occupies only a small portion of an otherwise standard film frame. In a commercial example of a camera of the type that is described in the '250 patent, eight distinct images are captured per 135-format film frame instead of one image as in a standard camera. The image resolution recorded per scene by such cameras is greatly reduced. There are many reasons for this. First, all but the most expensive lens systems are less than perfect at faithfully transmitting fine detail because of the inherent fall-off in high frequency response that can be caused by deviations in the design, manufacture or arrangement of such systems. However, lens systems that are used to capture images on only a portion of a film stock are particularly vulnerable to such deviations precisely because they are required to faithfully transmit high spatial frequency information, and even minor deviations can significantly compromise the ability of the image capture system to capture images having fine detail. Further, some type of film stock can exhibit less than perfect recording of fine detail because of the intrinsic fall-off in high frequency response inherent in camera speed films due to the particulate nature of the silver halide grains.
High frequency information necessary for good sharpness in an image can also be lost when a smaller image frame is later enlarged to provide a final viewable image. The necessity for this greater degree of enlargement is inherent in employing only a partial frame to record an image. In the camera described in the '250 patent, image capture and reproduction involves an extra 8× reduction followed by an extra 8× enlargement relative to a standard 135-format frame with concomitant resolution losses at both steps.
Thus, what is needed is a camera that allows multiple images to be recorded on a single frame of film stock without causing unacceptable losses in the appearance of fine detail in the captured image.